I've read alot the the forums about setting up a home theater. i kind of have a wierd situation of where i could setup my projector and screen in my house being i rent. i was just wondering if someone could help me with the best placement for my surround sound speakers in my living room. i just bought a home theater in a box. i havn't hooked up anything yet. i only use my projector for my xbox 360, so i plan on using an optical cable to the reciever. i have an attached picture of how my living room is setup. sorry for my sloppy drawing and or spelling. i can't really draw, or spell for that matter. i'm just not sure if i should put the speakers in the very corners of the living room or above and on sides of the screen and directly across from them behind the couch. if anyone could modify my picture with speaker placements or just an explanation it would help alot. any help would be appreciated. thank you.

one more thing, it's a 5.1 speaker setup.

roughly (can try putting the sub in upper left corner if it fits...corners=more rumble:))

well i didn't know that, my other question is with putting the surround speakers in the front and back how you have them, will the sound still be crisp on the side of the room where my home theater is? my living room is big and only one half is my theater. i just didn't know if the sound would i guess you could say drown off in the other side of the room. i'm very new to all this.

id try to put them as evenly spaced away from the couch as possible..so you are "surrounded" when youre sitting watchin tv...

you CAN put the right side speakers on the other side of the room id think it would be very uneven...

focus on where youll be sitting when u watch tv...who cares about the other side?!?!?:D

i was just wondering if someone could help me with the best placement for my surround sound speakers in my living room.

I see several problems with your current arrangement:

* You're sitting right in front of a reflecting wall.
* The speakers are firing the short way down the room.
* The listening position is not centered left and right.

See this article How to set up a room on my company's web site:

http://www.realtraps.com/art_room-setup.htm

--Ethan

my problem is i couldn't place my projector anywhere but where it is. and at the time i wanted the biggest screen possible so i have to sit on my far wall. would moving my couch a little bit off the back wall make any difference? i only use my projector and surround sound for gaming.

would moving my couch a little bit off the back wall make any difference?

Only if you define "a little" as ten feet or more. :D

But all hope is not lost. You can solve the severe problems caused by those nearby reflections with a few absorber panels. Below is a photo a customer sent showing how he treated the wall behind his couch.

--Ethan

http://www.realtraps.com/cust_perone1.jpg

ok, well the distance from my back wall where my couch is to where my projector screen is only 14 ft. i only spent a couple hundred dollars for my home theater setup and i'm sure while on a budget the absorbing panels would most likely be out of my range. is there anything else i can do? another problem i might have is that behind my couch is a 7ft wide window. the house i'm in now is a rental and have already kind of bent the rules by putting a fixed projector screen and ceiling mount for projector.

For now go with the suggestion above that orlasttoy gave you. Put the sub in the far left corner, put the right and left speakers on either side of the screen, put the center on top of your table up front and your surrounds on either side of the couch. Don't worry about the right side of the room as this is not where you will be seated when you are watching your projector.

As for the panels, they would definitely help, but since you are limited with placing things on the wall and you are using a HTIB I would do without them for now. If you are able to add them later down the line, then I would suggest them. You may also be able to build your own for less money but that is for another time.

Good luck :)

is there anything else i can do?

Heavy blankets.

i was just wondering how high should the front left and right speakers be? because my projector screen is about 4ft tall. and also could i put the center channel speaker on top of the sreen mounted sort of facing towards the seating or would it be better to put it on the table below the screen? if i do mount the front speakers on the sides should i point them straight out or in the direction of the seating. sorry about all the questions guys i'm just really new at this and want to try to get the best sound for all my gaming. i'm sure it'll drive my girl nuts but it'll be well worth it. if it would help i could post actual pictures of my living space or a short video if possible. thank you.

For now go with the suggestion above that orlasttoy gave you. Put the sub in the far left corner, put the right and left speakers on either side of the screen, put the center on top of your table up front and your surrounds on either side of the couch. Don't worry about the right side of the room as this is not where you will be seated when you are watching your projector.

As for the panels, they would definitely help, but since you are limited with placing things on the wall and you are using a HTIB I would do without them for now. If you are able to add them later down the line, then I would suggest them. You may also be able to build your own for less money but that is for another time.

I agree with this except for a couple of things:

1. Rather than deciding where to put the sub based on a drawing, start by placing it near a corner and experiment with placement. Move it around, right and left, closer or farther from room boundaries, etc. until you get the smoothest response. You may find that it sounds best right next to your couch underneath the Xbox.

2. I would move your couch about 2 feet out from the wall and mount the surrounds up on the rear wall, equally spaced to the sides of the sweet spot on the couch. Or, put the surrounds on stands. Moving the couch out a couple of feet still maintains enough distance to the screen while lessening (slightly) the rear wall reflection problem. It also places the surrounds where they should be - to the sides and slightly behind.

Also, whenever possible, face the speakers directly at the listening position. Almost all speakers have their best frequency response when measured directly on axis.

Ethan is right about room treatment. The acoustics of the environment, along with speaker and listener positioning, are the most important elements in the results you achieve. These are the things you should spend the most money and effort on, and also are the most difficult things to get right. The next most important thing is speaker selection, and last comes electronics. If you keep these priorities, you'll always be able to make the most of whatever room you have.

i was just wondering how high should the front left and right speakers be?
The tweeters in all loudspeakers should be at ear level as explained in my article How to Set up a Room here:

http://www.realtraps.com/art_room-setup.htm

--Ethan

you guys are awesome, i thank you dearly for all the info you have gave me. i was wondering what is the best way to make sure both front and back speakers have the exact same angle, should i just eye them or use a string line? i'm just not sure. the mounts i have tilt and swivel. so far i figure i'm going to put my front left and right at ear level on the sides of my screen pointing in the direction of the main seating. i think i'm going to put the center channel centered above my screen pointing down toward my couch, unless there is a better spot. my rear surround speakers are going to be the hardest to place for me because of the giant window behind my couch. i'm going to have to mount it on the rear wall evenly spaced between the main seating pointing i'm assuming toward the back of my head. i already have surround speaker mounts from my last very very cheap system. from what i gathered the rear surround should be a couple feet higher than the front speakers. i'm just not sure if the rear surround should just point toward the middle or if they should be tilted downward toward the listener? i'm going to have to move the sub around a little because of other obstacles in the room. i should receive my optical cable sometime this week and i'll install everything with my new found knowledge thanks you to guys. i think that even know i'm on a tight budget and such little space this will enhance my gaming experience alot. right now i always get snuck up on and slaughtered because my old receiver rear speaker channels stopped working. again i'm very new at all this so if my speaker placement still isn't right please correct me. i'm going to add a modified crappy pic of details of my living room that i din't think i needed in the first post, i don't know if it'll change my speaker placement. one more small question, can i extend my rear surround speaker wires being they are hardwired?

my rear surround speakers are going to be the hardest to place for me because of the giant window behind my couch.
Looking at your drawing, you need to slide your couch forward a lot.

--Ethan

Only if you define "a little" as ten feet or more. :D

But all hope is not lost. You can solve the severe problems caused by those nearby reflections with a few absorber panels. Below is a photo a customer sent showing how he treated the wall behind his couch.

--Ethan

http://www.realtraps.com/cust_perone1.jpg

What are those panels made of?

What are those panels made of?

The panels mounted on the wall are made of rigid fiberglass. The ones above in the corners also have a membrane to increase bass absorption.